June 27 (Bloomberg) -- Honda Motor Co., preparing to enter
the market for business jets, said it’s won two-to-three years
of orders for what it calls “flying sports cars” and signaled
the business will turn profitable before the end of the decade.

The aviation business is on track to turn profitable five
years after it begins delivering planes as soon as next year,
Michimasa Fujino, president of Honda Aircraft, said in an
interview in Tokyo yesterday. Though he declined to specify the
number of orders received so far, Fujino said sales of the $4.5
million jet plane may reach 80 units to 90 units annually in a
few years.

“We want to evoke new demand to make the pie bigger for
all,” said Fujino, 52. “As the pie becomes bigger, we’ll all
be motivated to sharpen our competitiveness, which will in turn
attract more new demand.”

Honda, Japan’s third-largest carmaker, is betting that
lessons drawn from its main automotive business will help the
Tokyo-based company compete against Textron Inc.’s Cessna and
Brazil’s Embraer SA. Advisory firm Zenith Jet estimates the
business aviation market will reach $21 billion this year.

Honda rose 3.1 percent to close at 3,605 yen in Tokyo,
compared with the 2.8 percent advance by the Topix Index. The
stock has gained 15 percent this year.

Unconventional Design

Fujino said the location of Honda’s engines, which unlike
conventional planes are lodged on top of the wings, will
increase fuel efficiency by about 15 percent and allow cabin
space to be 15 percent to 20 percent roomier than in comparable
aircraft. With a cruise speed of 778 kilometers per hour (420
knots), the jet is also 10 percent faster than the average plane
and more resistant to turbulence, he said.

While the U.S. currently accounts for most of the demand
for business jets, Fujino said Brazil and India are among
markets that offer the most growth potential.

Deliveries of the Honda jets, originally planned to begin
this year, have been delayed because the company’s waiting
approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, Fujino
said. After four to five years, the company may begin fleet
sales as the increase of chartered flights turn business jets
into forms of “air taxis,” he said.